Here are my four favorite things about traveling to another country: 1) sights/smells/sounds of the new country, 2) taking a million photos 3) meeting and talking to people about their country and 4) choosing souveniers to bring home. This post is about number four and some of the treasures we brought home from our trip to Sri Lanka.

Beautiful carved wood boxes. The first photo above is actually a puzzle box. We purchased these boxes outside of one of the temples in Sigiriya.

These earrings from KK the Collection in Galle Fort. This entire store was serious eye candy. When we went here we were only three days into our 16 day trip and I didn’t want to blow my entire shopping budget right at the beginning of our journey. I wish I had bought just a few more pairs of these earrings because they are so beautiful. The colors are woven threads. Sam was a total trooper while I was in this store. He was tired and hot and knew I was looking for treasures so he found a bench and perched himself there patiently until I was done.

Earrings with inlaid stones and brass from a shop in Ella. Again, I wish I had purchased more of these. They are really substantial but surprisingly are not as heavy as you would expect.

Different peppercorns for our pepper grinders. Pepper is grown in Sri Lanka and we saw quite a bit of it in Ella.

We bought this heavy brass bell and mount for our front porch. We need to get it hung up – it sounds beautiful! We bought it at an amazing store called Selyn outside the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy. Selyn is the only Fair Trade hand loom/handmade company in Sri Lanka. They do beautiful work. We probably spent more time inside this store than any other store on our trip because there were so many treasures.

Sugar candy (that looks like small sugar cubes) and spices from a spice garden we visited in Unawatuna.

We found this little backpack for Sadie; it is the perfect size for a kid and was from our favorite store Selyn.

We picked up multiple pot holders, mitts and lined makeup bags also from Selyn. See those colors? How could I not?!

I found these little wallets at a shop in Ella.

One of my favorite purchases of the whole trip were these 20 hand painted ceramic knobs from a shop in Galle Fort. As soon as I saw them I knew I wanted them to replace the knobs I currently have on my kitchen cabinets. I have seen knobs just like this at Anthropologie and Cost Plus World Market; they retail for between $8-$12. In Galle Fort each knob came out to $1.25. I fantasized for 24 hours about buying ALLLLLLL of the knobs in the store and reselling them back in the US but that would have been over 100 pounds of stuff and honestly, I just wasn’t motivated enough. I will probably regret it one day.

Beautiful hand painted “thing” to hang in our living room. We picked this up in Ella and I was so worried this was going to get cracked before I got it home. I wish I had a better description than “thing” but you get my drift, right?

Super weird candies that we tried once we got home. Sophie proclaimed they tasted like sweet asparagus with the texture of a cookie crumble…and not nearly enough sugar. Strange, but not terrible. I can’t remember where we picked this up.

Vanilla from a spice garden in Unawatuna because I am a sucker for vanilla wherever I go. I don’t know how good this will be but it made it back home.

Makeup bag or general small bag made from a rice bag. It is lined with a smooth fabric and I literally kick myself daily that I did not grab ten of these. They are so cool! I also love that it says “String Hoppers” across the front because that was my favorite food discovery in Sri Lanka.

This backpack is from the same place that I got the little pouch pictured above. I got this for myself and it is way more substantial than it appears in this photo. It is a rice bag that is fully lined and contains one interior pocket and two exterior pockets. It is AWESOME. We tried negotiating with the shop owner to buy like ten of these but the prices were fixed and she would not budge. As a result I put most of my pile back thinking I would surely find another shop willing to negotiate. We never saw them anywhere else in the country on our trip and we were BOTH looking. I picked this up in Galle Fort. If you go to Galle Fort and find these in a shop just go ahead and buy a whole bunch; I so regret not grabbing more. Ugh!!!!!

Aaaaaand one more of my beloved rice lined bags. I really loved discovering these.

We purchased these three postcards featuring bright retro paintings of Sri Lanka at a store called Stick No Bills in Galle Fort. Awesome place. I wish I had more room on my walls for even more!

We purchased this AMAZING carved wooden elephant from a craftsman outside one of the temples in Kandy. He was sitting on his front porch carving a large wooden medallian and when we saw this in his shop we knew we had to have it. Some of the elephant art in Sri Lanka is really elaborate with the elephants wearing headdresses and jewels. But having spent time around multiple elephants on our trip we knew that wasn’t accurate and wanted elephant art that was closer to reality. I know that this photo doesn’t capture it very well but the carved marks on the elephant are perfect representations of the wrinkles and folds on an elephant. I love this piece so much. I worried about getting it home safely with those tusks (the tusks are fixed and cannot be removed for easier transport) but I packed it carefully and we made it!

Speaking of elephants, we purchased this one carved out of stone with a smaller elephant inside for a dear family member. We bought it from a seller in front of Sigiriya Rock. We saw lots of these around the country but this one was definitely my favorite.

This is a small Hindu (I think??? Or is it Buddhist??? Help!!!) wooden mask that now hangs in a corner of our kitchen. The kids think it is terrifying but I love it. I picked this up in Ella inside a grocery store.

We found this apron in Galle Fort for Sam’s sister who is a chef. We were actually giddy when we found it because we knew she would love it so much.

This is a very old brass knife that we purchased in a shop in Kandy right in front of Gadaladeniya Temple. The shop was owned by a sweet family that didn’t speak much English but the inside of the store was like something out of Indiana Jones. We had a blast in there. We gave this to Simon who is 16 and has quite the collection of knives we have brought him from other countries. This came home in checked baggage or I can guarantee it would have never made it on the plane.

Pretty little fabric and wood necklace from our favorite store discovery, Selyn in Kandy.

Also from Selyn this is a little lined pouch that can be used for school supplies or makeup or anything else. The writing on the front is the Sinhalese alphabet.

Gorgeous little wooden container from the same store we purchased Simon’s brass knife from. I will probably use to store makeup or jewelry; I haven’t decided yet. Isn’t it beautiful?

Fancy toiletry kit I picked up for Sophie from, you guessed it, Selyn in Kandy.

My FAVORITE souvenir of the whole trip is this brass and stone tuk-tuk that we purchased in Galle Fort. Sam and I are both obsessed with tuk-tuks and I was looking for the perfect small one to bring home (I was also looking to import an actual tuk-tuk but that is a story for another time…). We were hot and sweaty and walking down a charming little street in Galle Fort when I saw this on an outside display in front of a store. It was priced pretty high but after a little negotiation we agreed on a price that the owner and we were happy with. It was the most expensive thing we purchased on our trip but definitely my favorite. It is completely made of brass and inlaid with different stones. There is glass for the windshield and red velvet for the seats. I love it so much.

Speaking of tuk-tuk’s we picked up a few of these simple cotton bags with our favorite vehicle screen printed on the front. We got these in Ella.

We bought four of these carved wood elephants for each of our kids. These were the some of the last souvenirs we purchased during our trip. We got them from a seller at the ruins in Polonnaruwa. We thought the seller had quoted one price (600 rupees) but he had in fact quoted 6000 rupees. Darn that extra zero. We had to do some negotiating and had actually walked away altogether when he finally came down to something we could agree on. It was our only purchase that was kind of weird and tense but I like the elephants so oh well.

We had the most incredible spa treatments while staying at Mahaweli Reach Hotel in Kandy at Spa Ceylon. Oh my gosh, I could go on and on about how much I love their products. This coconut balm smelled so good I bought a whole stack of them. Spa Ceylon is AMAZING.

There was a shop at one of the Buddhist temples and inside were monk robes and various items they use in the monastary. We purchased several of these orange towels because they were just so cool!

That concludes most of what we brought home. We also bought some tea (Sri Lanka is the tea capital of the world), a few other spices and spa goodies, a few sarongs and Sam got a cool shirt. We had to purchase two duffel bags while in Sri Lanka to haul all of our treasures home! Before we went over I was confused about what people actually purchase for souvenirs. I know that some people purchase gems when they go over but I wasn’t interested in that. Brass is a big thing; so are carved wood items. Fabrics are vibrant, tea is always a great gift and so is jewelry. I hope this helps if you are planning to go to Sri Lanka and wondering what kinds of treasures to bring home.

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